BC Jeep Tours Inc.

06/19/2024

A little History…

06/12/2024

03/23/2024

Visit Wickenburg, AZ

02/14/2024

Those of us that love Arizona couldn’t have said it better!!!❤️

Let me bid a happy birthday to my beloved Arizona! Today, the state is 112 years old. We all know how devoted the indigenous people and native-born Arizonans are to this astonishing state. I can only share how I feel as someone who fell madly in love with Arizona while still a teenager. To express that, here is a very brief excerpt from the Introduction of my new book, “Awesome Arizona.”

“Arizona is often regarded as nothing but a land of transplants. The common perception is that this state shelters an unconnected population with few common interests, people that are still loyal to previous homesteads. But I’ve found just the opposite to be true. Plenty of folks, like me, are here for reasons of our own, and our passion and pride in Arizona knows no bounds.

We’re here because golden poppies blaze across the desert floor in spring like a satin fire. We’re here because skies are relentlessly blue—not gray or gloomy or soggy—but sharp as cut glass while still violet-soft. We’re here because our trails are winding, our horizons are shoved wide, and the outdoors laps at our doorsteps. We’re here because horses run free along the Salt River and wild burros rule Oatman and neon still shimmers along Route 66. We’re here because mountains heal and the desert seduces. We’re here for the burritos and date shakes and history and hummingbirds and swinging door saloons and Grand Canyon and Sedona and Monument Valley and ferocious heat and pristine snow and fragrant forests and the glorious, lavish, dramatic sunsets. We’re here because it feels good to dance in the rain, because we can see the Milky Way from our porches, and because we can hike every single day of the year.

I am here, because happiness doesn’t exist for me anywhere else.”

From “Awesome Arizona: 200 Amazing Facts about the Grand Canyon State”

01/29/2024

Spectacular Sunsets…. Perfect 70+’ weather… make a reservation before we get more rain.

01/01/2024

On the cusp of the new year we are reminded of Solnit’s words, in that no matter how deeply you come to know a place, you keep coming back to know it more.

The land. The air. The flora. It’s deep within us and yet there is so much unknown. So much more to see. To feel. To experience.

Thank you for allowing us to share these places. We love being a part of your spaces. Your sacred spaces, the ones where you go to seek sanctuary, and quiet. To creat joy. And share laughter. We love being able to take part in the moments that mean the most to you.

Here’s to another year of magic.

xo
CICADA

12/31/2023

As this year ends we reflect on all of our wonderful guests and friends that have allowed us to “ Share our Desert” with them. We are so greatful to have met and spent time with each and every one of you. Happy New Year to you all. If you are coming our way and planning a tour, please remember to reserve your trip so we can make sure to be available for your adventure.

11/03/2023

We have an amazingly varied landscape… get out and see it!

Here’s something surprising to many visitors. They expect Arizona to be flat, because desert is flat, right? Wrong! Look, I’m from Ohio so I know FLAT. Arizona is the exact opposite. In truth, Arizona has more mountain peaks and summits than any other mountain state. We have more than 26 peaks rising above 10,000 feet. We are vertical, baby! Our mean elevation is 4,100 feet. We’re a state with all four major American deserts, plus the world’s largest ponderosa pine forest, plus alpine tundra! What does that tell you? Diversity, that’s what. There are multiple roads in Arizona that pack every life zone found between Mexico in Canada in just a few steep miles. Even our plains rise, roll, ramble and are slashed by sharp canyons. Right now on my porch, I’m sitting at nearly 3,500 feet gazing at my backyard mountain that’s more than twice as tall. If I look the other way across the valley, there’s the high red rock wall of Sedona, indicating the tail end of the Mogollon Rim. Around here, you need a flexible neck because beauty is always towering overhead. Here's the Superstition Mountains, a savage range east of Phoenix. Hiking up Siphon Draw Trail gives you a glimpse of hardscrabble slopes and beyond is the tall summit of the Flatiron (a tough challenging hike). The high and the low in such close proximity, that’s the story of Arizona.

10/31/2023

The weather is perfect, the Jeeps are ready…. Call today to book your adventure ….928-258-7383

10/14/2023

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=857987969016362&id=100044155013356&mibextid=qC1gEa

Once again I can’t resist dropping an Arizona sunset on you. We’re having some beauties early this fall. While it never surprises me to look out my window and see a dazzling display filling the sky above Mingus Mountain, I also never, ever want to start taking it for granted. I don’t want to become jaded. I live in a state where the setting sun creates masterpieces of light and color and I want to celebrate all of them as the special gifts they are. If I ever reach a point in my life where fiery sky doesn’t pull me out onto my porch for a few minutes, I’ll know I’ve taken a wrong turn somewhere. It will be time for some reevaluation. So far, I’m happy to say, they still squeeze my heart and slap a smile on my kisser! Hey speaking of fall color, I’ll be talking about where to see the changing leaves this Wednesday Oct. 11 on “Arizona Horizon” with Ted Simons. It airs on PBS at 5 and 10 pm. It’s always a pleasure to blab about the beauty of the state with Ted. Even if I do have to put on long pants and a nicer shirt than I normally wear.

10/14/2023

Sun dogs decorating our evening skys…

09/23/2023

Thank you to all who check in, support our posts with comments and “likes”, to those that share , to our guests….. thank you we have reached 1000+ of you.!!! Small business service , Big Desert Visitas… we are proud to be in your lives.❤️

09/22/2023

First Day Of Fall!!!! We are starting our Fall Season… book your trips , think Gift Certificates, enjoy your Desert!!! Call 928-258-7383 to book your adventure!!!

09/12/2023

Saguaro cacti are not born tall. They start as tiny seeds in the harsh desert soil. These seeds can take up to 100 years to grow their first arm.

Great things take time.

Just as the Saguaro takes decades to reach its full potential, remember that your growth is also a journey of patience and perseverance, not a race. 🌵

08/26/2023

08/24/2023

Summer Sunsets….. so perfectly different every night❤️

07/26/2023

Since our summer rains are scarce and spotty, I feel like it’s time once again to offer up my annual monsoon prayer. Let’s hope that it helps.

A prayer to the Arizona sky…

Rain like you love me. Pour out your heart. Shower me with tenderness. Drown me with affection.

Rain like you hate me. Let loose your fury. Bare your wet fangs. Chase me indoors to hide from your pounding savagery.

Rain like we are lost from another. Help us find our way back to a sense of harmony. Restore the balance that once existed. Bind us together with a veil of pure clear water.

Rumble at me from a great height. Blot out the light and the sun. Rip open the clouds and empty them on my head. Weep for the land because it is so thirsty. Let your tears put out fires and fill arroyos and push rivers free from their banks. Bring the torrent. Unleash the cascade. Sign your masterpiece with a high arching rainbow. Perfume the desert.

Just rain like it does each night in my dreams.

One final reminder, I’m speaking in Goodyear on Tuesday evening. I’ll be giving a free “Awesome Arizona” presentation at the Georgia T. Lord Library (1900 Civic Square) on July 25 at 7pm. I hope to see many of you there.

07/22/2023

It only feels that way!!!

07/13/2023

This is the fiery cusp, the dark edge of monsoon. The heat rises, the humidity swells, yet storm clouds hold their breath. This is when the desert turns surly, flexes spiny biceps. The sun rages and roars; it fills half the sky. These are the days of dragon breath. The ferocious afternoon heat peels the enamel from your teeth and brings the wax in your ears to a rolling boil. Once the rains come, the fever will break. Until then, if you get desperate for an escape, take advantage of Arizona’s natural diversity. Head for the high country where the elevation cuts temperatures by 20 or 30 degrees. Here’s my story on some of Arizona’s best cool summer getaways. Hike through a chilly cave, ride a scenic gondola to a mountaintop, camp on the North Rim, grab a cabin in Greer, etc. If you’ve read my book “Awesome Arizona,” you know that Arizona has more mountains than any of the other Mountain States, that we have 26 peaks above 10,000 feet, and we have the world’s largest contiguous ponderosa pine forest. Summer sanctuaries abound just a short drive away. You just have to track them down. Here’s my story. https://www.azcentral.com/story/travel/arizona/road-trips/2023/07/05/cool-summer-getaways-in-arizona/70315738007/

07/07/2023

A cool drive this time of year!!!!

If you’re looking for an incredible summer adventure, here you go. Drive from Prescott to Flagstaff on State Route 89A. It’s less than 100 miles. You can do it in a day but why hurry? Make it last. Savor every sweet and surprising curve of this winding scenic road. What a great excuse to spend nights in Prescott, Jerome, Cottonwood, Sedona, or Flag. Start out on historic Whiskey Row. Travel through the Granite Dells and wind-kissed grasslands where pronghorn graze. Cross the broad back of Mingus Mountain cloaked in pine forests. Twist through the narrow streets of Jerome lined with Victorian architecture. Drop into the picturesque valley, through small towns filled with wineries and museums, cross the Verde River and watch the red rock formations begin to fill your windshield as you approach Sedona. Towering cliffs of sandstone wrap around you. Then one last curving drive through the green oasis of Oak Creek Canyon, chasing a crystal stream, and finally switchbacking up the steep slant of the Mogollon Rim to the cool forests of Flagstaff. Rising overhead are Arizona’s highest mountains crowned with alpine tundra. You only drove 92 miles. But what an adventure, what history you witnessed, what scenery lightened your heart! What a privilege it is to live in such a state where nearly every 90 miles are crammed with wonders. Here we gaze down the long spine of the Hogback as it stretches across lower Jerome. At this point we’re a third of the way into the journey. Look at all that lies ahead. How can you resist?

06/20/2023

This is one of the smallest I have seen. It was not touched, or moved or harmed. Tossed a quarter ( not very close) for size reference. Used my zoom so wasn’t real close.

06/11/2023

The Strawberry Moon was amazing…

05/02/2023

Great info…

Every year we point out that we should be celebrating the palo verde (Parkinsonia florida) blooming season like they celebrate the cherry blossoms in Japan. They bloom during that wonderful time of year when so many plants are waking up from the winter dormancy. That time of year when it’s absolutely beautiful outside. They bloom at the same time as many ragweeds, Bermuda grass, and other allergenic plants and because they’re big and yellow, get blamed for allergies. But since their pollen is sticky (they are pollinated mostly by native bees so the pollen has evolved to stick to those bees) they’re not likely to be the culprit for your suffering. Medium, deciduous tree (photosynthetic trunk) to 30’. Full sun, low water, hardy to 10°F. Plants bloom March to May and occasionally again from August to October following summer monsoon rain and are followed by legume seed pods. Flowers provide nectar for bees, butterflies, important nesting plant for birds, seeds attractive to granivorous birds, several moth and beetle species depend on this species as adults and larvae, the mistletoe important to phainopepla birds and is also a larval host for the great purple hairstreak (Atlides halesus). Because this tree typically grows along washes there is likely to be deep sandy soil nearby for the digger bees (there are many species). These bees create long tubular nests in the sand with pollen and nectar gathered from palo verdes. Flushing its new foliage in late May, the tender shoots of blue palo verde are attractive to adult leaf beetles of the genera Cryptocephalus and Saxinus. This is a larval host for some noctuid moths. Palo verdes are the favorite host for the larvae (grub worm) of the palo verde beetle (Derobrachus hovorei). Though they are blamed for the demise of palo verdes, these beetles mostly eat dead wood and these species have evolved together for thousands of years. Desert mistletoe is also hosted on palo verdes and gets blamed for killing them. Usually, the real demise of blue palo verdes is the dropping water table caused by humans. This tree provides edible flowers and pods for humans.

04/09/2023

Happy Easter! Be kind, be greatful and rejoice!

Happy Easter!!!

04/03/2023

Thank you Mike, Lynn, Cheryl and Scott for letting me share our Desert Bloom with you! Perfect day….

03/14/2023

Drifts of color are showing in our Desert!!!